Tuesday 25 August 2020

2019-20 UEFA Youth League - Semifinals and Final Appointments - Christopher Kavanagh (ENG) in charge of the final

The following officials have been appointed by UEFA to referee the last three games of 2019-20 UEFA Youth League. The final act will be officiated by Christopher Kavanagh from England.



SEMIFINALS

Saturday 22 August 2020
15:00 CET - Nyon (Centre Sportif de Colovray)
SL Benfica (POR) - AFC Ajax NED)
Referee: Antti Munukka (FIN)
Assistant Referee 1: Jukka Honkanen (FIN)
Assistant Referee 2: Antti Kemppinen (FIN)
Fourth Official: Kaarlo Oskari Hämäläinen (FIN)
UEFA Referee Observer: Markus Nobs (SUI)
UEFA Delegate: Aristeidis Stavropoulos (GRE)

Saturday 22 August 2020
18:00 CET - Nyon (Centre Sportif de Colovray)
FC Salzburg (AUT) - Real Madrid CF (ESP)
Referee: Pavel Orel (CZE)
Assistant Referee 1: Petr Blazej (CZE)
Assistant Referee 2: Jiri Kriz (CZE)
Fourth Official: Ondrej Pechanec (CZE)
UEFA Referee Observer: Marc Batta (FRA)
UEFA Delegate: Aristeidis Stavropoulos (GRE)

FINAL

Tuesday 25 August 2020 
18:00 CET - Nyon (Centre Sportif de Colovray)
Winner Semifinal 1 - Winner Semifinal 2 
Referee:Christopher Kavanagh (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Daniel Richard Cook (ENG) 
Assistant Referee 2: Sian Massey-Ellis (ENG)
Fourth Official: David Coote (ENG)
UEFA Referee Observer: Marc Batta (FRA)
UEFA Delegate: Aristeidis Stavropoulos (GRE)

42 comments:

  1. Watched both semifinals yesterday and here are some thoughts about the performances:
    Mr Manakka: Overall a good performance, but with quite serious problems in the disciplinary area
    -min 38 missed foul for reckless challenge which later led to a small massconfrontatation some one minut later. The referee solved this by talking to the players. In my opinion at least one player from both teams should be cautioned here (at least in my country,clear guidelines)
    Also the coach of Benfica behaving badly, causing a Ajax player to be cautioned in the end of first half. The referee only spoke to the coach. In my opinion a yellow card should have been issued.
    All in all 6 yellow cards issued, all correct.
    In second half one clear missed yellow card for step on foot in minute 57.
    In minute 76 a clear penalty is correct given by the referee. But the challenge is also a clear yellow card. The referee does not give yellow here, it would have been second yellow card for this player, so clear red car missed. Even serious foul play can be discussed here.
    Benfica was the must better team and won this game.

    Mr Orel: Overall a good performance, with a good discpilinary line
    Overall 8 yellow cards given - all correct!
    Two cards for bad tackles, minute 16 and 75. two for SPA, min 26 and 90. Small confonrontation in minute 60 maybe could have been solved without yellow cards but for sure not incorrect to give. One yellow card for elbow to face in minute 80, hard to see but referee detected this one! In minute 92 a yellow card for dissent. Here in my opinion a missed foul on the attacker led to reaction.
    Mr Orel had to work quite hard, but did it well in my opinion

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I want to thank Dr Emu a very powerful spell caster who help me to bring my husband back to me, few month ago i have a serious problem with my husband, to the extend that he left the house, and he started dating another woman and he stayed with the woman, i tried all i can to bring him back, but all my effort was useless until the day my friend came to my house and i told her every thing that had happened between me and my husband, then she told me of a powerful spell caster who help her when she was in the same problem I then contact Dr Emu and told him every thing and he told me not to worry my self again that my husband will come back to me after he has cast a spell on him, i thought it was a joke, after he had finish casting the spell, he told me that he had just finish casting the spell, to my greatest surprise within 48 hours, my husband really came back begging me to forgive him, if you need his help you can contact him with via email: Emutemple@gmail.com or add him up on his whatsapp +2347012841542 is willing to help any body that need his help. 

      Delete
  2. Very challenging second half for Kavanagh, a penalty whistled, another possible penalty, maybe offside before 0-2 by Real Madrid (to be checked) but the most interesting situation a few seconds ago. In my opinion Benfica keeper deserved RC for a violent conduct. While holding the ball he hit the opponent at least twice, in the second case for me no doubts that it was more than YC. Kavanagh very far away, looked at his assistant referee before deciding for YC, for sure he missed the incident. Without VAR refereeing is very difficult. Now still 12 minutes to go, a maxi-injury time is expected and the game is very challenging.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. To add:
      80': there was something like a holding in penalty area but replay was not clear so far.
      83' another very interesting situation, keeper goes for saving the ball by punching it, but he hits also (and maybe before the ball) the head of opponent. However, also in case of ball hit before, this is too reckless and penalty should have been whistled.

      Delete
    2. 87': another situation close to RC, with a very reckless hit to opponent. Still I see Kavanagh looking for a help to fourth official, again YC is the decision. Very lenient.
      However, players are acting very unfairly now.

      Delete
    3. 90'+1 very clear violent conduct as reaction against opponent by Real Madrid player, again YC.

      Delete
  3. OT: Any info on Saudi Arabia appointments? Appointments in Croatia have been published and Bebek is not appointed neither as referee neither as VAR and I expected him as referee in Dinamo-Osijek or Hajduk-Slaven. Pataki, his AR1 is also missing from the appointments so I think they are maybe apppinted abroad.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Madden, Pitana, Cunha and Mažeika (with Ristić, Ðurdević) have the games today in Saudi Arabia. Bebek had Zamalek - Al Ahly on Saturday.

      Delete
    2. Yes, my thought was also that maybe he "stayed" there for one more game, either as VAR, as main referee or as 4th referee. We will see maybe when appointments become available.

      Delete
    3. Thanks for the info. I know for the match in Egypt but Modric (AR), Jovic (4th official) and Gabrilo (VAR) are back and appointed. So I thought Bebek maybe got something abroad for the weekend...

      Delete
  4. Videos of incidents mentioned by Chefren

    45' - onside call by AR2
    https://streamable.com/nbv5f7

    59' - violent conduct by BEN #17?
    https://streamable.com/kme6yi

    67' - penalty awarded for tripping
    https://streamable.com/7x9n4z

    69' - penalty incident (handball)
    https://streamable.com/e71q07

    75' - violent conduct by BEN GK?
    https://streamable.com/1ubf18

    80' - penalty incident (holding)
    https://streamable.com/3efpev

    83' - penalty incident (RMA goalkeeper's intervention)
    https://streamable.com/tl1jwy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 87' - violent conduct by BEN #17?
      https://streamable.com/swkuy1

      89' - violent conduct by BEN #17?
      https://streamable.com/f8d9j7

      90' - violent conduct by RMA #12?
      https://streamable.com/zk5zty

      Delete
    2. very challenging match and a not very convincing referee. but before first benfica goal cavanagh gave a very good advantage.

      Delete
    3. I've watched the game and by looking again at those videos, it's pretty clear that the ref was not interested in the game, his attitude was nonchalant and the way he leads the game horrendous.. I hope that this kind of attitude will be punish !

      Delete
    4. I wouldn't say referee not interested, rather referee in difficulty, maybe this was one of the most difficult games he ever officiated.

      Delete
    5. Assessing each incident isolatedly, we can say that BEN #17 doesn't deserve to be red-carded in all three cases but... is it an accident that he is involved in a 'possible violent conduct' scene three times? Don't you think that by its current liberal guidelines UEFA encourage players to behave like this?

      Delete
    6. Well, the first and third incident for BEN#17 can be evaluated as accidental. So one could say, that players would be more cautious, if such accidental "violences" would be punished more - but I think, that's a bit far-fetched.
      The second incident is using the arm as a tool, i.e. reckless and should be a YC.
      Otherwise, the only mistake is 83' IMO, although I am not completely sure about UEFA's opinion on such situations.
      About 67', one can wonder, whether this would have given with the intrepretation observed in the latest CL matches. The attacker seems to go down quite early, maybe before the contact - but pictures are also not that clear.

      Delete
    7. 1)59' and 87' 2 YC = sending off for Ben17. 89' was accidental, but he should have been sent off before that. This first situation reminds me a bit on Real-Valencia (1:08) https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_4xncyMLNnM&list=PLKj1QUtwqLN_V6PMvzFmuSalZI4E7-zfg&index=13&t=0s

      2)83' not penalty for me, but when heavy contact with head, game must be stopped immediately, play-on is rediculous decision.

      3)75' not an easy decision given the game, but for me in this case no tolerance, RC should have been issued

      Delete
  5. Seems like a lot of difficult situations but it has to be said how embarrassing the behaviour of these players is. really shameful.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Very challenging match for Kavanagh. Not the good way (lenient traditional english manner) and complete poor performance by ref. He seemed lost and without confidence on the pitch...Nightmare for him !

    ReplyDelete
  7. Amazed at some of the comments here! in regards to his attitude such as "not interested in the game, his attitude was nonchalant". Really??? I find it an incredible statement as he's been appointed to a final, and who would go into the final with an attitude like that from the start?
    In regards to the incidents, a very challenging match not helped by the players, but I think he got most of them correct. I certainly don't think he had a nightmare either.
    Whether you like his lenient approach is a different matter.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I think calling Kavanagh uninterested and having a poor attitude is totally wrong, he's not an expressive referee, England doesn't produce many of them and I wouldn't include Kavanagh in that group regardless.

    For what it's worth the players behaved abysmally, but that has to be expected in a cup final these days, we only need to look at the behaviour of the 'adults' to know what's going to happen.

    Kavanagh's problem was he didn't change up his game as the temperature rose and rose, he doesn't lack for fitness yet you rarely see him in the vicinity of the flashpoints, he walked towards incidents (which is admittedly an English thing) but the best referees know when they need to kick up a gear and sprint there, (even English ones e.g. Clattenburg, Taylor etc.) as the incident with the Benfica GK and potential VC could've been defused if he'd "read" the situation and been on the scene, telling the players to leave each other alone. I do think that any referee without sufficient experience of these types of teams and occasion would've struggled but Kavanagh didn't really adapt and hopefully for the future he learns from this, which I'm sure he will if he wishes to be a mainstay at Cat 1 or even push for Elite.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Totally agree with these comments, well said!!

      Delete
    2. Yes, very accurate comment. It seems that he simply didnt adapt and realize that he should increase his presence on the pitch through the game to avoid some of the situations. Then he would not have to solve them and risk mistakes.

      Delete
    3. And it can be explained by his lack of international experience. This was his first Youth League match ever and he only had 5 UEFA matches before (1 EURO qualifier, 2 U19EURO qualifiers, 1 EL, 1 EL qualification)

      Delete
    4. Who was the UEFA referee observer?

      Delete
  9. 45' - https://streamable.com/nbv5f7
    > Tight offside: https://imgur.com/TMmMjnF.

    59' - https://streamable.com/kme6yi
    > Grey area, at the referee's discretion to decide whether it was an accident or a violent act. For me, too much doubt to eject the Benfica player here.

    67' - https://streamable.com/7x9n4z
    > I strongly prefer play on here as the Benfica player kicks the ball far out of his possession and the contact with the defender is rather trifling, if not even initiated by the attacker himself. But not 7,9 material.

    69' - https://streamable.com/e71q07
    > Deliberate play by the defender - PLAY ON. I had the impression that optically Kavanagh missed what happened.

    75' - https://streamable.com/1ubf18
    > There is a contretemps between the two players seconds before (considering the pretext of the match too) - Kavanagh should have anticipated what could happen here, and not just relied on his AR Daniel Cook. Red Card to be given, forceful and violent intervention by the goalkeeper.

    80' - https://streamable.com/3efpev
    > Considering that you cannot see the Benfica player’s number due to his shirt being excessively held by the defender, in addition to the quite decent chance the attacker has of reaching the ball – penalty. Supportable to play on?

    83' - https://streamable.com/tl1jwy
    > Perhaps supportable to play on? I strongly prefer a penalty here as the goalkeeper’s intervention was very reckless.

    87' - https://streamable.com/swkuy1
    > Highly unnecessary strike in the neck – probably not enough force to justify a sending off in UEFA/FIFA? Not really acceptable that Benfica no.17 was not sanctioned at all here and it was totally missed by the officials.

    89' - https://streamable.com/f8d9j7
    > Bad luck, if painful. No sanction.

    90' - https://streamable.com/zk5zty
    > Was it just a bad attempt to kick the ball away or a premediated kick at his opponent? At the referee’s discretion; I would have issued a caution too.


    => CONCLUSION: I was very surprised to hear that Kavanagh would handle this Final and he justified the reservations. Nothing against him personally but he is simply a poor referee at the top international level: not a charismatic leader on the pitch, not the best decision-taker and not a top-class athlete either. He can never increase his presence in the hardest matches. It is typical that referees with his skill set get ‘pushed’ in England, and it is not surprising that they struggle in international matches.

    If UEFA goes the same way as FIFA and pushes referees like Kavanagh, then if you ask me that is a great shame…

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm not going to comment on the individual incidents as one can argue for an against some of them.
      However, in regards to the conclusion, I am surprised at how harsh people are. It's his first final at UEFA level I believe and for sure there is room for improvement, but to say he's a poor referee at this level is quite simply unjustified! Who says that he won't develop 5 or 10 years down the line to become a top referee? I bet the likes of Collina, Frisk, Michel, Webb etc etc weren't the referees at the top of their game at the start of their international careers to how they ended their career?

      Delete
    2. Why surprised that he was appointed to the final - he obviously has impressed enough to get the appointment

      Delete
    3. Exactly, to me the appointment was not a huge surprise.

      However, his performance didnt completely justify it. I would need to watch the whole game, but from this i would say 8.1 at most, and more probably 7.8 because of missed red card for GK in 75'.

      Delete
    4. I watched Kavanagh many times - in England (including live in the stadium) and in UEFA matches (Yeni Malatyaspor - Partizan and Moldova - Albania).

      I don't think my comments are harsh for a referee who is evidently being pushed to join the Elite Category (ie. the best thirty referees in the whole of Europe). I would be the first person to be happy if he develops into a top-class referee! But, personally, I don't see the scope for it (yet).

      As I said, nothing against Kavanagh, but I find it quite 'worrying' if UEFA sees his competencies as constituting a "talented" referee. That's all.

      Delete
    5. @Mikael W
      I have seen Kavanagh a few times too. But I still think they are harsh purely on the basis that he is just starting his career. I think you have explained yourself better than your previous post in my opinion. I agree, I don't see him being an elite referee yet and for a few years to come as he has to develop much further to even get into this category. My point was that people are harshly judging him for a guy who is still very inexperienced on the international scene and he can potentially develop into a top-class official (if handled correctly).
      I hope the powers that be in UEFA do not push him too hard too quickly, he definately needs time to grow!

      Delete
    6. True that most of the incidents are very close to RC, but one can still back referee (however, there is still a very clear red card, if not two, if you ask me), but the most interesting speech is about Kavanagh, indeed. It looked like he didn't expect at all what was about to happen and after every incident he looked to be surprised / not ready. This experience will be very important for him to learn and know that when a game changes, he must adapt himself even in terms of prevention. I still think that the big "problem" for most of the English referees, is the way of playing in Premier League, that is absoltuely different from countries like Spain, Italy, Portugal, and so on. That's the point. A referee must be always mentally ready and prepared to "expect the unexpected". This was a final at youth level, but it wasn't so much different from a major game, so for sure Kavanagh will learn the lesson. Let's see how he will develop on next games, mostly Europa League group stage.

      Delete
    7. @Mikael W: if no charisma, no decision-making and no top athlete, what is the"typical skill set" for referees that are being pushed in England, as you mentioned in your first comments?

      Delete
    8. @Chefren
      Agree with your comments completely in all senses. England has always been different in that respect in my opinion, so in theory it should be no different now. English referees in the main have been held in the highest regard from Taylor in the 70's, Courtney in the 80's, Elleray, Poll Webb, Clatts etc etc
      Today, England has Taylor & Oliver who over the years have started to adapt well to the international stage (both my no means perfect) and I would expect to see the same moving forward with the likes of Kavanagh etc
      My point which i think is clear, let's not be so harsh with the critiques with up and coming referees who will surely make mistakes, have poor games but will ultimately develop in what we hope will be elite level officials regardless.

      Delete
  10. France Ligue 2
    Gameweek 2

    Saturday 29 August

    15:00 Nancy - Guingamp
    Olivier Thual - Cyril Saint Cricq - Ludovic Zmyslony - Bastien Leray

    15:00 SM Caen - AC Ajaccio
    Rémi Landry - Francois Boudikian - Steven Torregrossa - Lyes Boukeroui

    19:00 LB Châteauroux - AJ Auxerre
    Pierre Gaillouste - Bertrand Corcuff - Cédric Favre - Guillaume Bousquet

    19:00 USL Dunkerque - Clermont Foot
    Mathieu Vernice - Jean Grimm - Valentin Evrard - Gaetan Korbas

    19:00 Grenoble Foot - Toulouse FC
    Arnaud Baert - Laurent Coniglio - Yohann Larhant - Renaud Potier

    19:00 AC Le Havre - Amiens
    Sylvain Palhies - Paul Cravo - Michel Dolmadjian - Romain Perpinan

    19:00 Paris FC - Valenciennes FC
    Guillaume Paradis - Manuela Nicolosi - Stephan Pignatelli - Edgar Barenton

    19:00 Pau FC - Rodez
    Benjamin Lepaysant - Alexis Auger - Yoann Benoit - Maxime Apruzzese

    19:00 FC Sochaux - Estac Troyes
    Mikael Lesage - Tugdual Philippe - Bastien Courbet - Aurélién Saunier

    19:00 Chamois Niortais - Fc Chambly Oise
    Bartolomeu Varela - Stéphane Panont - Yassine Nacirdine - Cédric Mouysset

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What has happened with Mikael Lesage. Is he removed from Ligue 1 and if he, why. I can not belive that Varela still officiating.

      Delete
    2. I don't think he is demoted, referees from Ligue 1 can also officiate sometimes in Ligue 2, right?

      Delete
  11. I Finally Got Helped !! I'm so excited right now, I just have to share my testimony on this Forum.. The feeling of being loved takes away so much burden from our shoulders. I had all this but I made a big mistake when I cheated on my wife with another woman and my wife left me for over 4 months after she found out.. I was lonely, sad and devastated. Luckily I was directed to a very powerful spell caster Dr Emu who helped me cast a spell of reconciliation on our Relationship and he brought back my wife and now she loves me far more than ever.. I'm so happy with life now. Thank you so much Dr Emu, kindly Contact Dr Emu Today and get any kind of help you want.. Via Email emutemple@gmail.com or Call/WhatsApp cell number +2347012841542 Website (https://emutemple.wordpress.com/)

    ReplyDelete
  12. I was diagnosed of herpes virus, I have tried all possible means to get cure but all my effort proved abortive, until a friend of mine introduced me to a herbal doctor called Chief Dr Lucky, who prepare herbal medicine to cure all kind of diseases including herpes virus (Herpes), when i contacted this herbal doctor via his email, he sent me herpes virus herbal medicine via courier service, when i received the herbal medicine he gave me step by step instructions on how to apply it, when i applied it as instructed i was totally cured from the virus within 3 weeks of usage. Contact this great herbal doctor today to get your cure. 

    Visit website : https://chiefdrluckyherbaltherapy.wordpress.com/
    What's App number : +2348132777335 
    Via Email : chiefdrlucky@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for writing a comment on our blog!